The Kremlin on Wednesday condemned as unacceptable an alleged U.S. ultimatum to Turkey designed to force it to cancel a deal to buy Russian S-400 missile systems and buy U.S. weapons instead.
Moscow was responding to a CNBC report on Tuesday which said Washington had given Turkey just over two weeks to decide whether to complete an arms deal with the United States on the purchase of F-35 fighter jets or buy S-400 air defense missile systems from Russia and risk severe penalties.
We regard this extremely negatively. We consider such ultimatums to be unacceptable, and we are going on the many statements made by representatives of Turkey's leadership headed by President (Tayyip) Erdogan that the S-400 deal is already complete and will be implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
He noted that Ankara has stated on many occasions that the S-400 deal is a fait accompli.
Vladimir Gutenev, chairman of the commission for legal support of defense industry development under the Russian State Duma, said fulfilling the U.S. ultimatum will weaken Ankara's military. Thus, the Turkish authorities are unlikely to sever their deal with Russia.
"I believe that most likely this will be an unsuccessful attempt for the U.S. (to disrupt the purchase of S-400 systems), because it is absolutely unacceptable for the largest and reputable regional power," Gutenev told Russia's Tass News Agency. He added that a concession for the U.S. would weaken the government of Erdogan and "this may have fatal consequences for the dynamically developing Turkish economy".
"It is this outrageous form, which implies that if Turkey gives up the S-400 deal, this precedent will be used for other attempts to influence both the Turkish economy and politics," he added.
Meanwhile, Turkey's defense minister said it was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missiles, even while he said there was some improvement in talks with the U.S. over buying F-35 fighter jets, Reuters reported.
Speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was fulfilling its responsibilities in the F-35 project and expected the program to continue as planned. He said buying the S-400s was only meant to meet Turkey's defense needs and posed no threats.
He also said that Turkey had sent military personnel to Russia for training on the S-400 system, staterun Anadolu Agency reported.
"The military training will continue in the coming months," he told reporters.
Highlighting the defense capabilities of the S-400 systems, Akar said "no one should be bothered" by their use.
